Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia

The Leader of the Liberal Party, also known as Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, is the highest office within the Liberal Party of Australia and the Liberal–National Coalition. The position is currently, and has been since 30 May 2022, held by Peter Dutton, who represents the Division of Dickson in Queensland. Peter Dutton is the fifteenth leader of the Liberal Party. Dutton is also the first leader of the party to represent a Queensland electorate.

Leader of the Liberal Party
Incumbent Peter Dutton since 30 May 2022
Type	The Honourable
Member of	Federal executive^[a] federal council parliamentary Liberal Party
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	Clause 14.2, Constitution of the Federal Liberal Party^[1]
Inaugural holder	Robert Menzies
Formation	21 February 1945
Unofficial names	Leader of the Coalition
Deputy	Sussan Ley
Website	Peter Dutton

The current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party is Sussan Ley.

History

The Liberal Party leadership was first held by former United Australia Party leader and eventual co–founder Robert Menzies, along with eighteen political organisations and groups.^[2]

Following the oustings of two Liberal prime ministers in three years, Scott Morrison introduced a new threshold to trigger a Liberal Party leadership change in government, requiring two-thirds of the partyroom vote to trigger a spill motion. The change was introduced at an hour long party room meeting on the evening of 3 December 2018. Morrison said the changes, which were drafted with feedback from former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, would only apply to leaders who lead the party to victory at a federal election.^[3]

Role

Since the days of Menzies, the Liberal Party has either been in government with a coalition or in opposition to the Labor. Thus, the leader of the Liberal Party can often be the Prime Minister of Australia or Leader of the Opposition. Furthermore, the leader picks the Cabinet and is also the leader of the Coalition. The Liberal Party only had one leader of the party from the Senate, John Gorton, for a brief period in January 1968 before he resigned from the Senate to contest the Higgins by-election in February 1968.

Leaders of the Liberal Party

Note: the right-hand column does not allocate height proportional to time in office.

A list of leaders (including acting leaders) since 1945.^[4]

No.	Leader (birth–death)	Portrait	Electorate	Took office	Left office	Prime Minister (term)
1	Robert Menzies (1894–1978)		Kooyong, Vic.	21 February 1945	20 January 1966		Curtin (1941–1945)
							Forde (1945)
							Chifley (1945–1949)
							Himself (1949–1966)
2	Harold Holt (1908–1967)		Higgins, Vic.	20 January 1966 (unopposed)	17 December 1967 (died in office)		Himself (1966–1967)
3	John Gorton (1911–2002)		Senator for Victoria (9 January – 1 February) Higgins, Vic.	9 January 1968 (elected)	10 March 1971		McEwen^[b] (1967–1968)
							Himself (1967–1971)
4	William McMahon (1908–1988)		Lowe, NSW	10 March 1971 (elected)	20 December 1972		Himself (1971–1972)
							Whitlam (1972–1975)
5	Billy Snedden (1926–1987)		Bruce, Vic.	20 December 1972 (elected)	21 March 1975
6	Malcolm Fraser (1930–2015)		Wannon, Vic.	21 March 1975 (elected)	11 March 1983
							Himself (1975–1983)
							Hawke (1983–1991)
7	Andrew Peacock (1939–2021) (1st time)		Kooyong, Vic.	11 March 1983 (elected)	5 September 1985
8	John Howard (b. 1939) (1st time)		Bennelong, NSW	5 September 1985 (elected)	9 May 1989
(7)	Andrew Peacock (1939–2021) (2nd time)		Kooyong, Vic.	9 May 1989 (elected)	3 April 1990
9	John Hewson (b. 1946)		Wentworth, NSW	3 April 1990 (elected)	23 May 1994
							Keating (1991–1996)
10	Alexander Downer (b. 1951)		Mayo, SA	23 May 1994 (elected)	30 January 1995
(8)	John Howard (b. 1939) (2nd time)		Bennelong, NSW	30 January 1995 (unopposed)	29 November 2007
							Himself (1996–2007)
11	Brendan Nelson (b. 1958)		Bradfield, NSW	29 November 2007 (elected)	16 September 2008		Rudd (2007–2010)
12	Malcolm Turnbull (b. 1954) (1st time)		Wentworth, NSW	16 September 2008 (elected)	1 December 2009
13	Tony Abbott (b. 1957)		Warringah, NSW	1 December 2009 (elected)	14 September 2015
							Gillard (2010–2013)
							Rudd (2013)
							Himself (2013–2015)
(12)	Malcolm Turnbull (b. 1954) (2nd time)		Wentworth, NSW	14 September 2015 (elected)	24 August 2018		Himself (2015–2018)
14	Scott Morrison (b. 1968)		Cook, NSW	24 August 2018 (elected)	30 May 2022		Himself (2018–2022)
							Albanese (2022–present)
15	Peter Dutton (b. 1970)		Dickson, Qld.	30 May 2022 (unopposed)	Incumbent

Federal leaders by time in office

No	Name	Term began	Term ended	Time in office	Term as Prime Minister
1	Sir Robert Menzies	21 February 1945	20 January 1966	20 years, 333 days	(UAP 1939–41), 1949–66
(8)	John Howard	30 January 1995	29 November 2007	12 years, 303 days	1996–2007
6	Malcolm Fraser	21 March 1975	11 March 1983	7 years, 355 days	1975–83
13	Tony Abbott	1 December 2009	14 September 2015	5 years, 287 days	2013–15
9	John Hewson	3 April 1990	23 May 1994	4 years, 50 days
8	John Howard	5 September 1985	9 May 1989	3 years, 246 days
14	Scott Morrison	24 August 2018	30 May 2022	3 years, 279 days	2018–2022
3	Sir John Gorton	10 January 1968	10 March 1971	3 years, 59 days	1968–71
(12)	Malcolm Turnbull	14 September 2015	24 August 2018	2 years, 344 days	2015–2018
7	Andrew Peacock	11 March 1983	5 September 1985	2 years, 178 days
5	Sir Billy Snedden	20 December 1972	21 March 1975	2 years, 91 days
2	Harold Holt	20 January 1966	19 December 1967	1 year, 333 days	1966–67
15	Peter Dutton	30 May 2022	Incumbent	1 year, 333 days
4	Sir William McMahon	10 March 1971	5 December 1972	1 year, 270 days	1971–72
12	Malcolm Turnbull	16 September 2008	1 December 2009	1 year, 76 days
(7)	Andrew Peacock	9 May 1989	3 April 1990	329 days
11	Brendan Nelson	29 November 2007	16 September 2008	292 days
10	Alexander Downer	23 May 1994	30 January 1995	252 days

Totals for leaders who served multiple non-consecutive terms:

• John Howard: 16 years, 184 days
• Malcolm Turnbull: 4 years, 59 days
• Andrew Peacock: 3 years, 142 days

Federal deputy leaders

#	Name	State	Term start	Term end	Duration	Leader(s)
1	Eric Harrison	New South Wales	21 February 1945	26 September 1956	11 years, 218 days	Robert Menzies
2	Harold Holt	Victoria	26 September 1956	20 January 1966	9 years, 116 days
3	William McMahon	New South Wales	20 January 1966	10 March 1971	5 years, 49 days	Harold Holt John Gorton
4	John Gorton	Victoria	10 March 1971	16 August 1971	159 days	William McMahon
5	Billy Snedden	Victoria	18 August 1971	20 December 1972	1 year, 124 days
6	Phillip Lynch	Victoria	20 December 1972	8 April 1982	9 years, 109 days	Billy Snedden Malcolm Fraser
7	John Howard	New South Wales	8 April 1982	5 September 1985	3 years, 150 days	Malcolm Fraser Andrew Peacock
8	Neil Brown	Victoria	5 September 1985	17 July 1987	1 year, 315 days	John Howard
9	Andrew Peacock	Victoria	17 July 1987	9 May 1989	1 year, 296 days
10	Fred Chaney^[c]	Western Australia	9 May 1989	3 April 1990	329 days	Andrew Peacock
11	Peter Reith	Victoria	24 March 1990	13 March 1993	2 years, 354 days	John Hewson
12	Michael Wooldridge	Victoria	13 March 1993	23 May 1994	1 year, 71 days
13	Peter Costello	Victoria	23 May 1994	29 November 2007	13 years, 190 days	Alexander Downer John Howard
14	Julie Bishop	Western Australia	29 November 2007	24 August 2018	10 years, 268 days	Brendan Nelson Malcolm Turnbull Tony Abbott
15	Josh Frydenberg	Victoria	24 August 2018	30 May 2022	3 years, 279 days	Scott Morrison
16	Sussan Ley	New South Wales	30 May 2022	Incumbent	1 year, 333 days	Peter Dutton

Leaders in the Senate

Leader	Term began	Term ended	Portfolio^[7]	Status	Parliamentary leader	Term in office	Deputy
Neil O'Sullivan	21 February 1950^[8]	8 December 1958	Trade and Customs (to Jan 1956) the Navy (Jan–Oct 1956) Attorney-General (from Aug 1956) V-P Exec. Council (from Oct 1956)	Government	Menzies	8 years, 290 days
Bill Spooner	8 December 1958^[9]	2 June 1964^[10]	V-P Exec. Council National Development			5 years, 178 days	Shane Paltridge
Shane Paltridge	10 June 1964^[11]	19 January 1966^[12]	Defence			1 year, 230 days	Denham Henty
Denham Henty	26 January 1966^[13]	16 October 1967	Supply		Holt	1 year, 263 days	John Gorton
John Gorton	16 October 1967	1 February 1968	Education and Science Prime Minister (from 10 Jan. 1968)			108 days	Denham Henty
					None
					Himself
Ken Anderson	28 February 1968^[d]	5 December 1972	Supply (to 1971) Health		Gorton	4 years, 281 days
							Annabelle Rankin
					McMahon
							Reg Wright
Reg Withers	20 December 1972	11 November 1975		Opposition	Snedden	5 years, 230 days
				Opposition	Fraser
	12 November 1975^[15]	7 August 1978^[16]	V-P Exec. Council^[e] Administrative Services	Government
John Carrick	7 August 1978^[17]	11 March 1983	V-P Exec. Council (to 1982) Education (to 1979) National Development (from 1979)			4 years, 216 days
Fred Chaney	11 March 1983^[18]	27 February 1990	Energy and Resources (1983-1984) Industry, Technology and Commerce (1984-1985)	Opposition	Peacock	6 years, 353 days
			Industry, Technology and Commerce (1985-1987) Employment (1987) Industrial Relations (1987-1988) Industry, Technology and Commerce (1988-1989)		Howard
			Industrial Relations (1989-1990) Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1989-1990)		Peacock
Robert Hill	3 April 1990^[19]	11 March 1996	Foreign Affairs (1990-1993)^[20] Defence, Public Administration (1993-1994)		Hewson	15 years, 292 days
			Education, Science and Technology		Downer
					Howard
	11 March 1996^[21]	20 January 2006	Environment and Heritage (to 2001)^[f] Defence	Government	Howard		Nick Minchin
Nick Minchin	27 January 2006^[22]	3 December 2007	V-P Exec. Council Finance and Administration			4 years, 96 days	Helen Coonan
	3 December 2007^[23]	3 May 2010
			Defence	Opposition	Nelson		Eric Abetz
			Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy		Turnbull
			Resources and Energy		Abbott
Eric Abetz	3 May 2010^[24]^[25]	18 September 2013	Employment and Workplace Relations			2 years, 2 days	George Brandis
	18 September 2013^[26]^[25]	21 September 2015	Employment	Government	Abbott
George Brandis	21 September 2015	20 December 2017	Attorney-General V-P Exec. Council		Turnbull	2 years, 90 days	Mathias Cormann
Mathias Cormann	20 December 2017	30 October 2020	Finance and the Public Service V-P Exec. Council			6 years, 129 days	Mitch Fifield Simon Birmingham
					Morrison
Simon Birmingham	30 October 2020	Incumbent	Finance Trade, Tourism and Investment (to Dec 2020) V-P Exec. Council			3 years, 180 days	Michaelia Cash
			Foreign Affairs	Opposition	Dutton

See also

•  Politics portal
•  Australia portal
•  Liberalism portal
•  Conservatism portal
•  Lists portal

• Leader of the Australian Labor Party

Notes

1. Not to be confused with the federal cabinet of Australia.
2. After the Disappearance of Harold Holt, the Deputy Prime Minister, McEwen, took over as a caretaker until the leadership election of the Liberal Party was concluded.
3. From 23 May 1989 to 24 March 1990 (305 days), Wal Fife occupied the unique position of "Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Representatives". This was because Fred Chaney was a member of the Senate during that time; it was necessary to elect a temporary House-only deputy for procedural reasons.^[5][6]
4. Anderson was appointed Leader of the Government before the second session of the 26th Parliament,^[14] and Gorton made his appointments on 28 February 1968.^[7]
5. Withers was appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council the day after the Dismissal as part of Fraser's Caretaker Cabinet, but he continued in that office for his entire tenure as Leader of the Government. On the same date, he was appointed caretaker the Capital Territory, Special Minister of State, Minister for the Media, and Tourism and Recreation. He served in those offices until 22 December, when Fraser's first full Cabinet was sworn in. The Senate did not meet during the period 12 November to 22 December 1975 (indeed it was dissolved for most of that time). Withers gained the Administrative Services portfolio as part of 22 December reshuffle.
6. Minister for Environment 1996–98.

References

1. "Liberal Party of Australia Federal Constitution" (PDF). cdn.liberal.org.au. Liberal Party of Australia. 2019.
2. "Menzies Creates the Liberal Party". ABC. 1944. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
3. "Scott Morrison summons Liberal MPs to after-hours meeting to pass changes to leadership spill rules". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
4. "Our History". Liberal Party. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
5. "Liberal brawl may defer deputy vote". The Canberra Times. 22 May 1989.
6. "Peacock hopes brawling ended". The Canberra Times. 24 May 1989.
7. Australian Parliamentary Library. "Ministries and Cabinets". Parliamentary Handbook (32nd ed.). Retrieved 6 September 2013.
8. "Dr. Evatt Survives a Challenge, Mr. E. J. Ward Beaten For Labour Party Post". The West Australian. 22 February 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 6 September 2014 – via Trove.
9. "5 New Men in Federal Ministry, Dr. Allen Fairhall Omitted". The Canberra Times. 9 December 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 6 September 2013 – via Trove.
10. "Spooner Resigns from Cabinet: Government Solves One Problem, Finds Another". The Canberra Times. 3 June 1964. p. 1. Retrieved 6 September 2013 – via Trove.
11. "P.M. Fills Vacancies in Cabinet Reshuffle: Anderson and Howson New Ministers". The Canberra Times. 11 June 1964. p. 1. Retrieved 1 August 2013 – via Trove.
12. "Paltridge Resigns Defence Portfoliio". The Canberra Times. 20 January 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 6 September 2013 – via Trove.
13. "Bury in Cabinet: Holt chooses woman Minister in reshuffle". The Canberra Times. 26 January 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 6 September 2013 – via Trove.
14. Ken Anderson, Leader of the Government in the Senate (12 March 1968). "Ministerial Arrangement". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 12.
15. "Fraser Caretaker Cabinet". The Canberra Times. 13 November 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 6 September 2013 – via Trove.
16. "PM sacks Withers, Durack gets post". The Canberra Times. 8 August 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 6 September 2013 – via Trove.
17. "Person Details: Hon Sir John Leslie Carrick KCMG, AC". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
18. "Peacock elected Opposition leader: Naming of shadow ministry next week". The Canberra Times. 12 March 1983. p. 3. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
19. "Winner Hewson sets his agenda". The Canberra Times. 4 April 1990. p. 1.
20. "OPPOSITION EXECUTIVES AND SHADOW MINISTRIES". Retrieved 4 June 2022.
21. Australian Parliamentary Library. "Hill, Robert (1946–)". Retrieved 6 September 2013 – via Trove.
22. Australian Parliamentary Library. "Minchin, Nick (1953–)". Retrieved 6 September 2013 – via Trove.
23. Australian Parliamentary Library. "Minchin, Nick (1953–)". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
24. Australian Parliamentary Library. "Abetz, Eric". Retrieved 8 September 2013 – via Trove.
25. "Senator the Hon Eric Abetz". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
26. Australian Parliamentary Library. "Abetz, Eric". Retrieved 8 September 2013 – via Trove.